


Kaleidoscope Eyes

by Coru



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-29
Updated: 2014-01-29
Packaged: 2018-01-10 10:24:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1158525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coru/pseuds/Coru
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor and Rose Tyler, travelling together after Bad Wolf Bay redux.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kaleidoscope Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own naught.  
> Thank you to isilienelenihin for beta reading!

Her hair shone. He smiled lightly as the strands slid through his fingers, sparkling against his skin like spun gold. He had always loved her hair, but he had never touched it – never before, at least.

For a moment he thought that the joy in him would make him burst; the joy at having her by his side and the freedom to touch her at his will. The fact that she welcomed him, that she had chosen him even when presented with such a tempting alternative – it was heady, and wonderful, and better than he could have ever dreamed on his own.

His sudden glee made him giddy, and he wanted her to share it. The fact that it was the middle of the night and she was not quite as prone to glee on less than four hours of sleep as he was did not dissuade him. He was thus quite pleased when her eyes – her beautiful, fantastic eyes – opened a moment later and he found himself quite free to press his nose against hers and examine those eyes in rather more detail than he had ever before been allowed.

“Doctor.” Her sweet voice was no less sweet, despite the fact that it was raspy from sleep and more than a little annoyed at the awakening. “It’s five in the morning.”

“Yes,” he agreed cheerfully. “It is!” He noted the light gold flecks – and just a hint of green! – in her eyes with interest. Those eyes narrowed, just a bit, as her lips moved into a pout.

“I was asleep,” she said.

“And now you’re awake!” He grinned and, upon remembering how much he enjoyed the feeling, kissed her.

She was no longer pouting when he moved away, and his grin turned just a bit smug. She tried to scowl at him, and failed. “You’re a git.”

“And you’re awake,” he repeated. He kissed her again, and her resulting smile lit the room. “Fantastically awake.”

She laughed and pushed him off of her. “And in need of the loo now you’ve woken me up.”

It was his turn to pout as she climbed out of the bed and grabbed the nearest article of clothing to cover herself with – he almost objected, until he realized exactly how much he liked seeing her pad about in nothing but his dress shirt. He followed quickly, stopping her as she reached the door. His arms slid about her waist and he rested his chin against her shoulder as he pulled her back against him. “Have I mentioned how happy I am?”

“A few times.” She met his eyes in the mirror and her tongue peeked out between her teeth as she smiled his favorite smile. “Did I mention how much I missed you?”

He hugged her just a hair tighter, pressing himself flush against her. “Yes.” His voice was low, and not a little mournful. “You –“ he paused.

She leaned into his embrace, watching him in the mirror. “I?”

“Were you tempted?”

She did not have to ask. “He wasn’t you,” she said. She turned and wrapped her arms about his neck, meeting his eyes without a glass buffer. “Doctor, I wasn’t tempted. I love you.”

He smiled. “My Rose,” he said.

“Your Rose,” she agreed. “My Doctor?”

“Absolutely.” He kissed her again, just because he could, and for a moment after they just stood together, smiling at one another. It was, the Doctor though cheerfully, absolutely sickening.

“Alright.” Rose attempted to sound firm. “I absolutely need to use the loo and have a shower. You get dressed, an’ take us somewhere brilliant. Haven’t had a trip in three years, an’ I’ve got a craving for alien food. Meat slushies or squashed chocolate-slugs or somethin’. An’ chips.”

He beamed at her. “You’re just brilliant, you know that? None of this whinging about the food, you just fly on in, happy as a lark, even if you’re eating Mandivarian haggis.”

She elbowed him. “I’m also starving, so get to flying, yeah?”

He rubbed his chest and shot her his very best sad eyes. She laughed and stepped back, shutting the door between them. He pouted and muttered something about gratitude, before searching through the discarded clothing on the floor. He wanted his good trousers, if he was going to be gallivanting. He frowned at the dirty tweed jacket in his hand and shrugged before tossing it aside and digging through his closet for a clean blue shirt. He found himself dressed, if a little haphazardly, by the time he heard the shower turn on in the bathroom. He resisted the desire to go in after her, and tugged on his shoes with a bit more firmness than he supposed that they required.

“Designated driver,” he grumbled as he marched down the hall. The halls rumbled around him, and for the most fleeting of moments he thought there was a whisper of something familiar – but it faded, and he began to whistle as he approached the kitchen.

 

They fell into an easy habit, the three of them. The Doctor, for his part, was in a near continuous state of gleeful beaming; he had managed not only to reacquire Rose, he had managed to keep Donna on - and the two of them got along disturbingly well. Almost too well, perhaps, but he accepted that he would be the butt of their odd, human, and absurdly female jokes if it meant he got to keep them. For a few interminable days Donna had actually threatened to leave - and such threats could still occasionally be voiced at the tiniest display of affection between himself and Rose - but she seemed to have adjusted to the new situation shockingly well. The girls paired up nicely - for instance, they were completely united in their hatred of Lady Christina, as well as their fondness for Liz Ten.

Rose developed a bit of claustrophobia after being pulled through the Earth by Silurians. The TARDIS stretched her rooms to proportions he had never known before, the halls growing wide and tall and in a few weeks they were living in a spaceship that felt rather a bit too like the Notre Dame.

Rose moved the last of her things into the Doctor's suite because she said the halls were to keep walking all the way to her old room whenever she needed knickers. The next day, the TARDIS was back to normal and the Doctor decided to acquire a shiny new set of hyperdimensional compression coils for his clever, clever ship. She deserved it, the beautiful old girl.

Donna found herself entranced by Van Gogh, and Rose was there to comfort her when she realized that he couldn't be saved. When it proved too much for the redhead, Rose comforted him in the loss of his best friend - and insisted that they visit her, often. They both informed him that his history of leaving companions behind to better lives and never returning would not be accepted in this case. Donna took Rose's mobile number for emergencies, informing him that she would be expecting them on each major holiday, and left some very threatening words regarding the consequences of forgetting her birthday.

If the Doctor did some moaning at this bit of domesticity, it was quietly, to himself, and went unacknowledged by the females of his life...even the TARDIS seemed to conspire against him, dropping him firmly at Donna's doorstep each and every time aliens decided to get involved with life in London. Even living at home she was a part of the adventure, and when she was married a year later, he got to be a part of that adventure as well - he was her 'Mate of Honor', and he allowed her to force him into a pink cummerbund and a ridiculous bow tie. When Rose removed it after, slowly dragging the silky fabric across his skin, he decided that he loved bow ties and would never say otherwise again.

When his 'adventure report' included the fact that an alien official had pronounced them man and wife, Donna harangued him until they had a proper - if small - affair in London. Jack served as Best Man, and Mickey Smith walked her down the aisle. The Doctor did not appreciate the way the boy was making eyes at Martha, but he couldn't fault him for having good taste, though he would have expected more out of Dr Jones.

They were visiting ancient Rome, avoiding capture by 'silly men in skirts' when the phone rang to tell them about the birth of Baby Girl Jones-Smith, and though Rose was happy, there were several nights when her came to bed to find her pillow wet with tears long after she'd fallen into the grasp of sleep.

When he was called to help with the Weeping Angels - again - he made a point to keep Rose at his side, fingers laced tightly. Rose held him just as firmly, her grip tightening rather painfully whenever the curly-haired archaeologist called him 'sweetie'. The void that stole the lives lived unnerved them all, and the Doctor couldn't help but think of how terrible it would be to feel loss without remembering what had been. Rose was glad he remembered them, even if she didn't - she hated the idea of anything being erased like that.

The Doctor tried to ignore how sad Dr Song looked, though he felt that she understood his feelings when they parted. He didn't remember her touching him, but he found a small gold ring in his pocket after she said goodbye. It was still warm in his palm, and though he may never remember giving it her, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness as he put it away.

He seemed to have entered a golden age of happiness, and it passed in a blur of adventure, joy and lovemaking between it all. Then came the day when Rose picked up a miniature shirt - intended for the miniscule humanoids of Panmixolinazus - and did not put it back with a sigh. She gave him a small smile and handed over a few silver-tipped credits. That night, he slept with his ear pressed against her stomach, every sense attuned to the tiny life within.

Life was perfect, and he could see naught but better things to come.

The people of Lentil - sadly not leguminous - revered birth, so he considered it a fine place to take her on their next stop. She could spend a few hours being treated to the most doting of spa treatments, and he could wander about in the not unremarkable market obtaining goods. A win-win, he decided as he wandered the square. He needed to find something nice for the TARDIS while landed, he couldn't have his best girl getting jealous after all. He had seen a shop here once that had very pretty silver compression coils, that ought to make her happy. He hummed faintly to himself as he sifted through a tall yellow basket of goods, entirely too aware of the fact that the sparkle seemed to vanish from the project the moment he let his bride away from his side. Perhaps his ship had reason to be jealous, he thought to himself with a sardonic smile. "I think I've become a sap," he voiced aloud, chuckling at himself.

"Doctor?" The voice that broke him free of his reverie was hesitant...and decidedly Scottish.

He turned, a smile already on his face. "Hello!" He greeted cheerily. "Amelia Pond, as I live and breathe!"

She blinked, and then her brows drew together sharply. "You know me?" she demanded.

He beamed, rocking on his heels. "Of course I do! I saved you from a crack in the wall. Kissing cop, Prisoner Zero, all that. Why, don't you remember?"

"Well, you've certainly been acting as though you didn't!" she accused sharply. "Running off, leaving me behind! Do you know how hard it is to navigate this damned thing?"

"It isn't as though I spend all my time in Leadworth, now is it? Had to go eventually. And what are you doing following me, weren't you meant to be engaged?" The Doctor waved a finger in her face. "That boy of yours will be quite displeased that you've run off on him again."

"I haven't run off," Amy replied, insulted. "Rory's with me. You're the one who keeps running!"

"Well, that's my life!" He grinned sheepishly. "Been a bit busy, can't sit still with Rose always looking for the next adventure. You know how she is."

Amy stopped, her eyes widening slightly. "Rose," she repeated slowly. "Doctor...you still don't remember."

"Don't remember?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "Remember what, then?"

"Me," she said, her brave expression crumbling. "You've forgotten ME, Doctor! Who is this Rose, then? You didn't leave me in Leadworth, we've been travelling together for two years - you, me, and Rory! He and I got married, and we keep travelling with you." She grabbed his lapel and shook him. "The cracks in the universe opened up because the TARDIS exploded but I brought it all back, don't you remember? Rory was an Auton for two thousand years and you're - you're looking at me like you don't know me at all."

"I'm sorry," he said gently, taking her hands away from his jacket and stepping back. "You've had your memory altered. None of that happened - I'll help you, if I can, but you have never travelled with me, Amelia Pond." He smiled slightly. "Not entirely sure that the wife would approve, you know. She's always been a bit jealous and you're a bit pretty to be a third wheel."

"Wife!" The word was choked through an inhalation. "The blonde? How long do you think you've had her now?"

"Rose and I? Well," he stopped to think. "Not counting the in-between, which we'll not, oh I'd say about four years now. Well, there was that business with the time loop so perhaps six. Seven maybe. Eight at absolute maximum."

"She hardly looks twenty," Amy pointed out. "Do you really think she could be nearing thirty and look as she does?"

"Looks twenty?" He grinned. "She'll like that. She's not much a fan of aging." His smile faded just a bit, and the light in his eyes dimmed. "I've never been a fan myself, though, I must say."

"You, not a fan of something?" Rose had appeared at his elbow, her tongue just peeking from the corner of her smile. "I don't believe it for a second."

If there had been any dimness in his eyes it vanished at the sight of her. "Hello," he said, taking her hand.

"Hello," replied she, leaning into him. "Decided the spa wasn't for me, husband massages are better anyway, yeah?"

"Yeah," he agreed, tilting his head against hers.

Amy stared for a long moment, her face twisting with something halfway between pain and fear. "Doctor, you have to listen!"

"Yes, right, Amelia!" He looked up, and though his eyes were focused on her, it was clear where his attention was.

"Doctor!" Amy grabbed his sleeve roughly, finally seeming to bring him into the moment. "Doctor, I know you can remember. You took me with you after Prisoner Zero, and it was the night before my wedding. We came back to pick up Rory, and we travelled the stars for months and months before we realized that the crack in my wall had been stealing people, memories, all of it -"

Rose wrapped her fingers around Amy's wrist, pulling the smaller girl away from the Doctor. "Amy, sweetheart, you've got mixed up. We did come back for you, but you'd grown up, and I'm sorry that we couldn't take you with us, but you had a life to live. An' that's brilliant. You can't miss that."

Amy jerked her arm free, eyes narrowing. "I don't know you, I've never met you in my life," she hissed. "I travelled with the Doctor just us, and then Rory joined." She met the Doctor's eyes again, waiting for the light of recognition to shine again. "We met Vincent Van Gogh, remember? He fell in love with me, but he still killed himself - we went back and we saw the gallery...and I was so sad, but you helped me? Remember?"

"That...that was Donna," the Doctor said, shaking his head. "It wasn't you -"

"And then there was the Pandorica, do you remember that? It was supposed to be you in it, but it wasn't, it was me. And the Auton-Rory toted me around for two thousand years waiting for you to come save me. I knew you'd save me, so I waited. I'm the girl who waited, Doctor. Don't you know me?"

"I -" he stopped, confused. "That doesn't make sense. That's not right. That can't be right." For just a moment his eyes, brilliant and green, locked on her. "Pond?"

Amy let out a breath. "Oh, thank God. It's all a simulation, Doctor, they've wiped your mind, created some sort of universe to trap you. It's supposed to be a game but it's terrible, you can't escape, it's -"

"Better than Life," he finished softly.

"Yes," Amy nodded. "Exactly, that."

"Doctor?" Rose's voice trembled. "What're you sayin'?"

He turned to her, eyes slightly glassy. "You're gone," he said. "You didn't come with me. You're gone."

She shook her head, denial already on her lips. "I'd never - I love you!" She grabbed his lapel and pulled him tight against her. "This is me - I'm here! I'm your wife, you don't get to pretend this isn't real!"

"It's not real," he whispered, resting his forehead against hers. "And it is - it's more real than anything I've ever known."

She held his hand flat against her belly and he trembled as he felt the oh-so-tiny pulsations beneath his palm. "We're going to have a baby," she said, tears in her voice. "Please don't tell me that's not real. It's ours - yours and mine, Doctor. A real life, together, in the stars. The Doctor, Rose Tyler and Baby. I'll want to name it after Mum and you're supposed to tell me I can't - you can see it, can't you?"

"Yes," he said, his whole body shaking with repressed grief. "I would say something careless - and you would look so sad as your thought about your mother that I would promise you anything. But it won't happen. You won't ever look sad thinking of her, Rose, because you're with her. In the other world, with your dad, and the metacrisis. Being fantastic."

"I can't be fantastic without you," her voice broke. "You are what makes me brilliant, and amazing and all the other words you use to talk about me. Without you I'm just - Doctor, don't you love me?"

The strange words he whispered made no sense to Amy, but Rose began to sob in his arms.

"Don't make me go. Please don't make me go."

"I won't," he whispered. "You don't have to go anywhere, my precious girl. But I can't stay."

"Doctor," she could say no more. He pulled her to him, kissing her fiercely, crushing her body against his.

"If it's my last chance to say it..." he whispered against her lips. "Rose Tyler, I love you."

It was instantaneous. No flash of light, no blackness, simply a blink and they were standing by the console of the TARDIS. Rory was pulling electrodes from Amy's head, and the Doctor was removing a helmet-like unit from his. He did not look at them, he met no one's eye as he began to carefully pack it away. He picked up the colorful box and held it delicately as he walked toward the ship's interior.

"Doctor," Amy's voice stopped him at the doorway. "What happened to her?"

"There was another world," he said quietly, not turning. "A world where her father had never died, where her mother could be reunited with him...and she got trapped there. She found her way to me..." he laughed a sad, bitter laugh. "My fantastic, brilliant Rose...she always found a way to me. But I left her. In a place I can never get to again."

'I'm sorry' seemed so hollow, so wrong. "Are you alright?" she asked instead.

"I'm always alright," he replied dully.

He left then, leaving behind a room that echoed with words unspoken and lives unlived.


End file.
